


Those Who Wander Are Not Always Lost

by phasha18



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Adopted Sibling Relationship, Adoption, Alternate Universe - Human, Beacon Hills Hospital (Teen Wolf), Chris Argent Feels, F/M, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:41:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29352135
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phasha18/pseuds/phasha18
Summary: When Chris Argent ran away from home he never expected to be taken in by the very woman his father had warned him about.
Relationships: Derek Hale's Father/Talia Hale
Comments: 4
Kudos: 7





	1. Part 1 - The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Diablo_in_a_VNeck_29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Diablo_in_a_VNeck_29/gifts).



> I know things don't happen as fast as what happens in this story, but for the purpose of the story things have been sped up.

**Disclaimer:** _I don't own any of the characters from Teen Wolf they belong to their creator._

**Those Who Wander Are Not Always Lost**

  
_**Part 1 - The Beginning** _

  
Christopher Argent, thirteen years old, on the run from his father a despicable man, who most people were scared of. Christopher had always been called just that, and it wasn't something that he liked. He was running away from home, he couldn't take it anymore. He didn't like what his father was doing, was making him do. Whenever he did something wrong his father would take off his leather belt and put him over his knee and belt him until he bled. His father had even broken his arm on more than one occasion. Currently his left arm was bandaged, he'd done it himself as he'd run the second his father had left. His mother was in the hospital, having just had their second child a girl. 

Talia Hale, was taking a walk through Beacon Hills while her husband watched their one year old daughter. Talia was a very powerful young woman, the very thing that Christopher's father had been trying to teach his son were dangerous. She wasn't at all like the stories that Christopher had heard, she was a kind and gentle woman. Talia enjoyed walking through Beacon Hills and the preserve it allowed her to clear her mind. 

As Talia walked she spun around quickly catching the teenage Christopher before he could knock her to the ground. Christopher looked up at her, wondering why she wasn't on the ground. Talia smiled at him, before she was taking in his bruised appearance. Christopher tried to step away from her to run but she shook her head and took his hand. 

“Sweetheart, what's your name?” Talia asked, pushing his matted fringe from his face so that she could see him clearly. “What's wrong?” Christopher shook his head, he didn't want to speak. “Sweetheart, I can't help if you don't tell me what the matter is,” 

“Chr...Christopher Ar...Arge...nt...” Christopher mumbled, looking up at Talia before he mumbled asking her what her name was. “Who...who are you?”

“My name's Talia Hale, Christopher can you tell me what happened?” Talia answered, Christopher shook his head he didn't want to get in anymore trouble. “Did someone hurt you?” Christopher nodded figuring that if he didn't say anything people wouldn't get in trouble. “How about I take you home?”

“No!” Christopher exclaimed, he didn't want to go home that was where he was running from. “Not home,” he sniffled, Talia could tell that his heart beat getting faster by the second. 

“Okay, not home. I'll take you to my house, how's that?” Talia suggested, Christopher nodded anywhere was better than home. 

Talia took Christopher by the hand and started walking back to through Beacon Hills towards her house within the grounds of the preserve. Christopher looked at Talia and then at his hand, Christopher gasped and pulled his hand away, before he realised that his arm felt better when she was holding it. He'd been told that powerful women like her were something that had to be dealt with. Compassion and comfort, compassion and comfort from a woman he'd only just met. Talia took hold of Christopher's hand again and smiled as she continued to lead him home. As they walked Talia felt as though she could feel Christopher's racing heartbeat and breathing, the poor boy was terrified of something. 

“Christopher, over here now!” an older man's voice rang out as a car pulled up to the curb. “Now, Christopher!” the man called out again this time he stepped out of the car and it was clear that it was Gerard Argent, an arms dealer and rogue assassin for hire. Christopher shook his head and stepped behind Talia freezing.

“Sweetheart is that your father?” Talia asked quietly, Christopher nodded glancing up at her from where he was behind her. “Gerard, is this how you treat family?” Christopher gulped from behind her as someone else approached them. 

“Talia Hale, let my boy go,” Gerard said as he stood arms across his chest as Christopher stayed behind her. 

“He...he...” Christopher mumbled, as Talia looked behind Gerard and smiled as it was a dear friend of hers. 

“Gerard, Talia, what's the problem?” Alan Deaton questioned, as he crossed the road and stepped between the two of them. 

“Alan, take a look at his son would you?” Talia said, Alan raised his eyebrow at her, he was after all primarily a veterinarian and then one of her closest confidants and friends. Alan nodded before Talia's attention was back on Gerard. “If you truly cared about your boy, he wouldn't be scared of you, scared to go home,”

Alan walked over to Talia and Christopher and quickly looked Christopher over to try and determine what was wrong with him while Gerard glared at Talia. Talia's eyes filled with anger before she shook her head and listened someone close by was calling the Beacon County Sheriff's Department. Alan stepped closer to Talia and whispered in her ear that the boys arm was likely broken and he couldn't be sure but he could have had other bones that were broken. Next, Alan walked over to Gerard and spoke calmly to the older man. Alan knew Gerard due to the man bringing in his German Shepherd on multiple occasions.

“Gerard, the signs of abuse on your son are very clear. The black eye, the self bandaged arm, the bruising appearing on his collarbone,” Alan paused, Talia looked at him and then at Christopher and saw what she hadn't seen before the bruising the torn shirt, blood and more sadness. “Not to mention the dried blood, and torn clothing,” Alan spoke calmly, noticing that Gerard seemed taken aback by his observations. 

“You don't know that,” Gerard stuttered, the normally calculated older man looked at his son and then at Talia and Alan. 

“But we do, look at your sons face. Tell me that he's not terrified of you,” Alan stated taking a deep breath as Christopher poked his head out from behind the older man. 

“You two are just children, you have no right in taking my son,” Gerard spoke coldly as he looked at Talia and Alan before he was stepping forward and Talia was growling again. “Give me my son,”

“Sorry, the police have already heard everything,” Alan said, he knew that at least one member of the Sheriff's Department was friends with the Hale's.

Twenty-four hours later, Talia was waiting at Beacon County Sheriff's Department she'd just talked with Children's Services after they had done intensive questioning if it was her who had hurt Christopher. Christopher had told them it was his father, that it wasn't the first time either. When he'd been taken to Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital they had discovered bones that had healed unaligned in the same arm that Christopher had bandaged himself. He'd been taken into surgery, and been operated on to realign the bones. Currently he was laying in a hospital bed, they'd wanted to keep him in overnight until a new guardian could be found. 

“Mr and Mrs Hale, sorry to keep you waiting. If you could come this way,” one of the Children's Services ladies said as she held open the interrogation room that she'd been granted the use of. 

Talia nodded standing up with her husband David and their infant daughter, Laura and her own younger brother Peter. Talia was waiting for Alan to turn up so watch to the young children, as she looked down at her arms Laura started to cry right as Alan arrived and took hold of Peter's hand and Laura in his arms. David and Talia followed the CS lady into the room and sat down with her. They were told that under the circumstances they had been granted special guardianship over Christopher. Talia smiled at her, she knew why – the ladies family had been murdered by Gerard four years earlier. 

“Talia, Christopher Argent has been removed from Mister Gerard Argent's care. All parental rights have been removed, we'd like to place Christopher in your care,” the lady paused briefly before she continued to speak. “He wouldn't stop talking about the nice lady who saved him,” 

“He was terrified, Michelle, absolutely terrified of his father,” Talia said as she cast her mind back twenty-four hours earlier. “I asked if he wanted to go home and he shook his head quiet hard that he didn't want to go,”

“He's at the hospital now, he needed surgery,” Michelle explained pausing before she continued to speak. “Talia, David, I know that you have a new baby in the house but are you able to care for a teenage boy?”

“We are,” David answered, knowing that his wife would say yes instantly as it was clear to him the night before that she hadn't slept as she had been worried about Christopher the entire time. 

At the hospital, Christopher was laying staring out the window with his left arm bandaged with pins sticking out of it. His entire arm was bandaged and resting on a pillow, they'd had to fix all the bones in his arm, plus some in his hand. Christopher was worried that he was going to be made to go home, he hadn't been told by the social worker that he wouldn't ever be returning. 

Over two hours later, Talia was arriving at the hospital with her younger brother, husband and baby daughter and were speaking to one of the doctors with the CS lady. Michelle explained to Christopher what was going to be happening and that he was never going home again. Talia sat down on the side of the bed and smiled at him before she started speaking. 

“Christopher, no you don't like being called that I can tell. You act as though someone is going to hurt you,” Talia said as she paused for a moment to think before she spoke again. “From now on sweetheart, you will be Chris. Do you like that better?”

“Yeah...I mean yes I do,” Chris mumbled, looking at the older woman before he looked away from her. 

“Chris, my sweet boy, you never have to go back there ever again, I promise you that,” Talia smiled at him as she gently took his face in her hands and him look at her. “Your father is spending some time behind bars, you were told this by Children's Social Services and the sheriff I believe?”

Chris nodded as he looked at Talia, he was a little confused over was she was telling him. Where was he going to live now? He had no home, no place to go and now he was getting a little sad. Talia sighed, and wrapped her arms around him as she moved closer to him sensing the pain and sadness coming from him.

“Chris, you're going to be going home with Mr and Mrs Hale to live with them,” Michelle said as she stood back and watched David move to beside Talia. 

“This is my husband David, we also have two small children at home. Our infant daughter Laura and my younger brother, Peter,” 

After a week of being in hospital, Chris was allowed to leave with the Hale's. They'd gone to see him every day even allowing six year old Peter to climb on to the bed and talk to him. Peter had told him the wildest stories, that they had wolves that roamed Beacon Hills and protected people. Chris wasn't sure that he believed him but he went along with it. It was later that he found out that Talia had written a series of books on the conservation of wolves and that Peter believed his mother had wolf spirit protecting her. 


	2. Part 2 - Twenty-Seven Years Later

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 27 years later Chris has some conversations with his brother and parents that are a long time coming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!  
> I hope you liked the story.   
> I did not go into great detail about what happened to Chris.   
> What happens at the end is left for your interpretation.

_**Part 2 – Twenty-Seven Years Later** _

  
Twenty-seven years later, Chris looked down at his left arm he sometimes forgot all about the scar that ran from his wrist to his shoulder as he'd had it since he was thirteen years old. Allison looked at her father and then at her uncle, she was curious as to how he'd gotten the scar as it had never been spoken about. Chris glanced at his daughter and then at back at his arm, he wasn't sure that it was a story he'd ever be fully be ready to tell. Derek looked at his older brother and then at his niece, Chris had been adopted by his mother years before he was even born. Allison had been born when he was 24, her mother no longer in the picture so it was just him, her and their family. 

“Chris? What's going on?” Derek asked, he never knew the story behind the scar that Chris had running down the length of his arm. 

“It's nothing...” Chris muttered, Derek rolled his eyes and looked at his brother again before he looked at Allison.

“Dad, Uncle Derek's right. Something's wrong. What is it?” Allison asked, smiling at her uncle before she wrapped her arms around both of them. 

“Chris, I know something's bothering you. I just don't know what it is,” Derek admitted, he'd always wondered about the scar but his mother had always told him not to ask about it. “Allison, do you want to go over there for a minute?” 

Allison shook her head and folded her arms before she was looking at her dad's left arm again. “Dad, why haven't you spoken about it?” Allison asked quietly, Chris shook his head and looked at Derek as if to say try again. 

“Ally, can I talk to your dad for a minute alone?” Derek asked, he wanted to know what was wrong with his older brother and he could tell he wasn't ready for his daughter to find out yet. 

Allison sighed, she didn't want to leave the two of them but if it was something her dad wasn't ready to talk about yet then she would just have to wait. Derek nodded to her, Allison nodded back and walked over to the SUV and leaned against it. Chris subconsciously held onto his arm as all the memories from the day that he had met their mother came crashing down at once. Derek looked at his brother and then glanced at Allison who had closed her eyes while she was leaning.

“I know mom told you never to ask...” Chris said taking a deep breath, if he was going to tell his brother about the scar on his arm he may as well start from the day it happened even though he still had nightmares about it. “I was adopted when I was thirteen, I was abused every day before that,” Chris stopped he couldn't do it, not where they were in the almost movie theatre parking lot.

“Do you want to go home and talk there?” Derek asked, sensing the unease in Chris' voice, Chris nodded before he handed Derek the keys to his SUV. “And you want me to drive home?” 

“Yeah...My arm isn't great at the moment,” Chris admitted, he still had issues with moving his arm in certain weather, especially on the cusp of fall and winter. 

“Okay, I'll drive,” Derek nodded, Allison raised her eyebrow at her dad and uncle as they walked towards with her father holding his arm. Between 1983 and 1990 Chris had some three surgeries on his arm as the bone refused to heal straight. The final surgery the metal plates and screws were left in his arm reacting whenever the weather changed. 

Chris, Allison and Derek climbed into the SUV with Chris closing his eyes and leaning against the window. Allison looked at her father and Uncle she was slightly confused they'd wanted to talk alone but now they were on the way home. Home she would be asked to go to her room so they could talk. Allison was right, the second they were home she was asked to go to her room so that they could talk, she didn't know why they didn't just go into the office and shut the door. Derek and Chris sat on the sofa, but not before Chris was grabbing the sling he used on the occasion that he could barely move his arm. 

“Chris, what happened?” Derek asked cautiously as he watched Chris put the sling on then and rest his arm in it, almost sighing with relief that it wasn't dangling anymore. 

“Mom and dad adopted me when I was thirteen...but before that I ran away...my birth father,” Chris paused taking a deep breath before he continued the story. “He would abuse me, break my bones, he's the reason I'm covered in scars,” 

“He did that?” Derek questioned, motioning to the scar across the side of Chris' face. Chris moved his good hand to his face, he'd forgotten about the scar going under his left eye to his chin.

“Every single one of these is from him, I was running away from him...” Chris said, closing his eyes before he opened them again and looked at Derek. “I ran into mom...and then well, I had surgery on my arm it was that badly broken I could barely move it but I did. I had to when I ran,” 

“You ran into mom?” Derek questioned, Chris nodded he remembered running and his arm hurting so badly and being caught in her arms. “She caught you didn't she?”

“She did, she saved me that day,” Chris paused for a second before he continued to speak. “Mom and Alan did, I found out when mom and dad adopted me that the day she saved me was when all of his rights were taken away,”

Derek looked at Chris before he found himself launching at his older brother and wrapping him in a hug. Chris took a deep breath as he hugged Derek back, he knew he had to keep talking about it no matter that he was starting to panic. Derek looked at Chris, he knew that his brother suffered from panic attacks and they often came without warning. Derek kept hold of Chris, while his brother started to sweat and shaking. 

“Chris, think of something else. We don't have to talk about it,” Derek told him, Chris shook his head and squeezed his eyes shut. 

“I can do this,” Chris muttered, before shaking his head and deciding that he couldn't do it. “No, no I can't do it,” Chris ran a hand over his face and looked at Derek, his body still shaking almost uncontrollably. 

“Chris, focus on Allison upstairs, tell me what she wants for her birthday,” Derek told him, as he rubbed his older brother's back to try and help calm him down. 

“Her birthday's not for months,” Chris said as he took a deep breath and his head rested shakily against Derek. 

“So, tell me what she wants,” Derek told him, he knew that he needed to distract his brother and that Allison was one way to do that. 

Chris thought for a moment before he was shaking his head and closing his eyes still resting against Derek. Derek let out a small sigh he wished that they hadn't asked the question but it had happened and here they were. Derek knew something had happened to his brother as he got older especially once he and Peter were teenagers, Chris had always looked out for them but never said why. 

Chris opened his eyes as he took a deep breath, for two years before he'd been rescued by his mother, he'd been hurt in more ways than one. He'd gone to therapy for years always skirting around the subject, but he had a feeling that his mother knew what had happened and that he'd talk when he was ready. Chris ran a hand over his face and looked at Derek before he spoke. 

“I haven't told anyone this...I've always been too, too scared to say anything,” Chris said pausing as he fought back shaking and tried to concentrate. “My father...he hurt me in more ways than one, it wasn't just him either,”

“Chris, what did he do? I'll kill him,” Derek said, Chris looked at his brother as Derek pulled him into his arms. “I'm serious,” 

“He and I guess they were other family or friends...I don't know what they were,” Chris said as he started to panic again, Derek hadn't loosened his grip on his brother and just held him tighter. “They made me do things that I didn't want to do, that I never want to do...I can't...that's why I adopted Allison,”

“That...that explains why you're always cautious around people that aren't mom and dad and us,” Derek spoke quietly as Chris nodded, they didn't know that Allison had been listening from the top of the staircase, she knew she'd been adopted as Chris had been open with her about it. “I'm sorry I asked about what happened, I really am,”

“It's been almost thirty years I had to talk about it one day...I just didn't and still don't really know how,” Chris told him as they both looked up when Allison's head poked around the corner of the stairwell. 

“Dad...why haven't you said anything?” Allison asked her voice barely above a whisper as Derek and Chris motioned for her to join them. 

“How long were you listening Ally?” Derek asked, as Allison walked over and sat on the other side of her father and wrapped her arms around him. 

“Long enough...Dad I'm sorry that it happened,” Allison said as Chris wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed the top of her head. “I understand now why grandma always tells us that not all who wander are lost,”

The next day, Chris decided that it was time to sit and talk with their parents. When Chris, Derek and Allison turned up at the house, Talia took one look at her two sons and knew that the oldest wanted to talk. Allison and Derek headed to Laura and Cora who were already sitting in the lounge watching a movie. Talia and David led Chris into the study and partially closed the door, they knew that their children and Allison would want to know what they were talking about. Even Peter was sitting with his nephews and niece's trying to listen in on the conversation. 

“Mom, dad...” Chris trailed off, thinking as his heart started to race. Talia and David moved apart before Talia was patting the seat next to her. 

Chris may have been an adult but sometimes, just sometimes he needed the comfort of the woman who saved him all those years ago. Talia smiled at him as he moved to between them and instantly wrapped her arms around him. Chris rested his head against his mothers shoulder taking a deep breath before he composed himself enough to talk about what had happened before he'd come into her care and love. 

Once Chris had finished talking he broke down in tears he hadn't expected to feel that way, and the second that he'd stopped talking he was wrapped once again in Talia's arms. David had also wrapped his arms around him and reassured him that he would always be safe in their home. 


End file.
